World Bank Report

World Bank Report
According to the World Bank, the reach and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in developing countries should be driven by strong co-operation between local governments and the private industry sector. Where monopolies are retained, the cost of telecom services is always high and unaffordable. The best example of expansion is mobile telephony. By 2003, 130 countries had at least three competing providers of mobile services, driving strong expansion, pricing cuts and lots of investments in telecom. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the telephone access rate doubled between 2000 and 2004; tripled in Sub-Saharan Africa, while the number of Internet users grew 370% in the Middle East and North Africa.

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